Sara served with the Metropolitan Police from 1986 and over the next 15 years she alternated between operational postings in West London and strategic roles within New Scotland Yard..

She joined Thames Valley Police as Assistant Chief Constable, Specialist Operations in 2000 and in August 2003 she was appointed Deputy Chief Constable.

Between 2003 and 2007 she was chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Intelligence Portfolio, and was responsible for the first two National Strategic Assessments in 2004.

In 2006 Sara was awarded the Queen's Police Medal, and in the 2011 New Years Honours List she was awarded a CBE.

She was appointed Chief Constable of Thames Valley in April 2007.

Sara is a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Oxford University Centre for Criminology. She holds numerous other academic and professional qualifications and honorary doctorates, and she is a mother of two young adult sons.

Sara spoke to the Club in October 2014, and the title of her talk was "Challenges in policing".